James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) Short Interest Update

James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE:JHX) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 65,200 shares, a growth of 48.2% from the May 15th total of 44,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 62,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

James Hardie Industries Trading Down 0.6 %

JHX stock traded down $0.18 on Friday, reaching $31.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 41,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 113,278. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.79. James Hardie Industries has a 12-month low of $24.28 and a 12-month high of $41.98. The firm has a market cap of $13.74 billion, a PE ratio of 27.30, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.47.

James Hardie Industries (NYSE:JHX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 20th. The construction company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. James Hardie Industries had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 38.97%. The company had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts forecast that James Hardie Industries will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On James Hardie Industries

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in James Hardie Industries in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in James Hardie Industries by 693.2% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,158 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of James Hardie Industries in the first quarter worth $71,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of James Hardie Industries by 14.3% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,896 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JHX has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of James Hardie Industries from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Macquarie raised James Hardie Industries from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered James Hardie Industries from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.50.

About James Hardie Industries

James Hardie Industries plc manufactures and sells fiber cement, fiber gypsum, and cement bonded building products for interior and exterior building construction applications primarily in the United States, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, and the Philippines. The company operates through North America Fiber Cement, Asia Pacific Fiber Cement, and Europe Building Products segments.